Upgrading a Telecaster Standard bridge.

Although Mexican Fenders cam easily compete with US made instruments in terms of build quality, they also, strangely, tend to exhibit some pretty ugly hardware...

This is a 2010 Mexican Standard Telecaster. Check it out: It has a single piece (Yes, single piece!) maple neck with a late 60's-70's D shape profile, a Alder body veneered in maple both sides (and they really went to town on this!), US made sealed machine heads and... the ugliest 6 saddles bridge imaginable!?
Let's take a closer look!

There's nothing wrong with the bridge itself. It works the way it should and does quite a good job at that, it's just that I can't figure out why a £300 Squier has prettier hardware...

Another issue is the matt varnish on the neck.Thankfully, Peek is there for that!

Thankfully, Peek is there for that!

 Peek is sold as a metal polisher. In effect,it works wonders on most painted surfaces and is just the ticket to give your favourite guitar the correct Fender sheen! As for the bridge, I'm going for a 70's style 3 saddle type!

 When removing the old bridge, be careful not to interfere or damage any of the wiring.

 Once all the pickup has been properly affixed to the new bridge, it should fit on the body without any issues.

 The new bridge is on and the guitar is ready to be re-strung.

 My Tele is finally starting to look the way a Telecaster should!

 A closeup of the new bridge. It fits perfectly and perfectly compliments the guitar!

Thanks to Peek, the headstock and neck are looking an absolute treat too!

All texts and photos Fabrice Arfi/Kaiser Calavera ©2012. Reproduction by any means strictly forbidden.

New Tops ready for DIY Market #4, Paris!

Our display at DIY Market, Paris, on 3rd June is now enlarged with the addition of our brand new Navy Tops!
You can get them with any of our designs, with either blue or black stripes at our usual price of 15.00 Euros or £9.00 a pop!

 Octopus Navy Top with Black Stripes. Available now for 15.00 Euros or £9.00.

Our T-Shirts display is growing larger!

All rights reserved. All images and texts ©Die Young Stay Pretty and Kaiser Calavera 2012. Reproduction by any means forbidden unless authorised by copyright holders.
Tous droits réservés. Toutes images et textes ©Die Young Stay Pretty and Kaiser Calavera 2012. Reproduction par quelque moyen que ce soit interdite sans autorisation des ayant droits.

Kaiser Calavera in colour!

Our designs, made partly in collaboration with  Die Young Stay Pretty  will be available at DIY Market #4, at the World renown UFO Bar, Rue J.P. Timbaud, Paris!!!

To celebrate this, we have made some of our designs available in colour. You can already find them on ear rings, rings, gorgeous hair clips and pendants. Take a look at their DaWanda shop!

Lips Stick and Achor.

These can also be made to order. Check them out here!

Dead Girl in colour!

 Goldfish and Hook.

Octopus

Die Young Stay Pretty Dagger.

All rights reserved. All images and texts ©Die Young Stay Pretty and Kaiser Calavera 2012. Reproduction by any means forbidden unless authorised by copyright holders.
Tous droits réservés. Toutes images et textes ©Die Young Stay Pretty et Kaiser Calavera. Reproduction sans autorisation des ayants droits interdite par quelque moyen que ce soit.

Opening Night at 64, Clerkenwell.

This Friday 27th April was the official opening of 64, Clerkenwell, Gaby Levene and Julie Landau's vintage and hand made pop up shop and an opportunity to show off our ware to the crowd of one of London's hippest hoods.

Ce Vendredi 27 avril c'est tenu le vernissage officiel du magasin vintage et fait-main de Gaby Levene et Julie Landau. Une chance en or de pouvoir montrer nos produits aux foules d'une des rues les plus branchées de Londres.

 Another one of Julie Landau's Shadow boxes.

Hand made note pads made from old school Patterns.

 Some of the stranger items for sale...
Qualques uns des objets les plus étranges...

 Gaby and Julie got an original Kaiser Calavera Drawing as a Thank You card!
On the right, a fake Francis Bacon by Gaby!

Gaby et Julie on même eu un dessin original Kaiser Calavera en remerciement !
A droite, un faux Francis Bacon fait par Gaby!

 Some of Gaby's more "exotic" Jewelry!... Can you guess how they fit?
Certains des bijoux les plus "exotiques" de Gaby!... Vous arrivez à voir coment ils tiennent?

Pigalle with a Swallow necklace!
Pigalle avec un collier hirondelle!


I'm a huge fan of Julie's Shadow boxes...

 And, of course, our cushions!

All rights reserved. All images and texts ©Die Young Stay Pretty and Kaiser Calavera 2012. Reproduction by any means forbidden unless authorised by copyright holders.
Tous droits réservés. Toutes images et textes ©Die Young Stay Pretty et Kaiser Calavera. Reproduction sans autorisation des ayants droits interdite par quelque moyen que ce soit.

Our new T-shirts are out!

First, we noticed that we do get quite a bit of Traffic from France, which is hardly surprising, given that DIY Market is now nearly upon us!
As a result, this blog will now be written in both French AND English... at the same time! We do aspire to reach more people all the time, and so don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to contribute another language.
Otherwise... Wow! Do check out our new selection of T-shirts. We currently have 5 models out and we're hoping to double that by the time we hit Paris for DIY Market on 3rd June!

Premièrement, nous avons remarqué avoir pas mal de traffic en provenance de France. C'est  à peine surprenant, comme DIY Market arrive à grands pas.
Par conséquent, ce blog sera à présent écrit en français ET en anglais... Simultanément! Nous nous efforçons d'atteindre le plus de monde possible. Aussi, si vous voulez aider en ajoutant une langue suplémentaire, contactez nous!
Sinon, Wow! Regardez notre nouvelle sélection de T-shirts. On a 5 modèles dispo en ce moment, et on espère en avoir 5 de plus d'ici DIY Market le 3 juin!

These are available in all sizes for worldwide shipping now!
Price: €20/£16 +p&p.
Nos nouveaux T-shirts sont arrivés et peuvent dès à présent être postés dans le monde entier.
Prix: 20€/16GBP +port.

We feel the lineup for DIY Market will be totally phenomenal, so please do check it out if you're in Paris on 3rd June! You can also get a preview here: http://www.facebook.com/diy.market.paris and here: http://www.diy-market.fr/

Nous présentissons que le palmarès du DIY market sera absolument phénoménal, aussi n'hésitez pas à venir nous voir si vous êtes de passage à Paris. Voyez tout ici:  http://www.facebook.com/diy.market.paris et aussi ici: http://www.diy-market.fr/

All rights reserved. All images and texts ©Die Young Stay Pretty and Kaiser Calavera 2012. Reproduction by any means forbidden unless authorised by copyright holders.
Tous droits réservés. Toutes images et textes ©Die Young Stay Pretty et Kaiser Calavera. Reproduction sans autorisation des ayants droits interdite par quelque moyen que ce soit.

My first Mummy's head!

This shows you how my very first mummy's head was made... Enjoy!

 The mummy's head humbly started off as a plastic skull from Urban Outfitters.

 The skull was then primed in brown to get rid of the original gold paint.

 During the whole process, real mummy's heads were used as inspiration to achieve the highest possible level of realism.

 Once again, DAS modeling clay was used to model the ears.

 The eye sockets are filled with gauze to help with the modeling.

 The skull was then painted bone colour. Ground cork was added inside the eye sockets and nostrils to imitate rot.

 Modeling the face was done in just a few hours. DAS can be painted directly with acrylics without any priming needed.

 Frontal view of the finished head. Patina is created by dirtying up the head with soil and ground coffee.

All rights reserved. All content is copyright of Fabrice Arfi.

Cushions for sale at 64, Clerkenwell!

Wow!
You can now find a selection of our cushions at Gaby Levene and Julie Landau's pop-up shop at 64, Clerkenwell Road, London.

Click to display Map!

The Skull and Knuckleduster Pillows are looking great in the shop display!
The light boxes are by Julie Landau, of Eve and Eileen. Find her here: http://eveandeileen.com

Sull pillow looking totally awesome in the window. All other pillows are by the ridiculously talented Gaby Levene. Find here here: http://www.bluedragonflyfilms.com

I can't resist introducing you to the shop's very own Mascot, Ms Thea Butter. Thea Belonged to Gaby's Grandmother, herself a talented painter and, we're told, an exceptional art forger!

Ms Thea Butter lounging with a Skull Pillow!
All rights reserved. All content is copyright of Fabrice Arfi, with the exception of artwork depicted,  © Gabrielle Levene and Julie Landau 2012.